Watched: House of Anubis

True to the text message, Nayoung left class early, giving the excuse of strong cramps. Thanks to the male species natural fear of anything menstrual cycle related the teacher just stuttered a bit before letting her go without any hassle.

The problem was that the female student had no idea what she was looking for, a van, a car, just Taemin? This boy is already giving her a headache and she hasn't even seen him yet!

"Nayoung!"

She jumped in surprise at hearing her name the second she stepped out of the school building. Looking around, she found Taemin waving his arm out of a black vans window.

She hurried forward, hopping into one of the middle seats. Taemin wasn't alone in the van, there was also an older, burly, looking man in the driver's seat. He didn’t even give her a glance as he hit the gas pedal.

"What's the hurry?" she cut to the chase.

Taemin but his lip, not turning in the passenger seat to look back at his soul mate. "You remember those fan girls from a few weeks ago?"

"How could I forget, it felt like I ran a marathon after that."

The idol briefly chuckled before his lips pulled back into a frown. "They posted the pictures online the next day. SM had been trying to hide it the best they could, but every time they got one picture down another was posted. That's why I hadn't been contacting you, they told me not to. I've been in lock down.

"At first I didn’t tell them who you were, knowing that you didn’t want to accept me as your mate. But they wouldn't relent, once they said I couldn’t see you ever again I snapped. I told them the truth. That I found my soul mate and had been keeping it a secret from them. They were still upset with me, but not in the same way. They were upset I didn’t trust them with the identity of my soul mate, since they've had other idols before me."

"So," she slowly spoke, "why am I going with you?"

"To meet the label," he smirked.

Nayoung's eyes widened, her jaw dropped. "M-meet them?" she stuttered.

"They have to know who you are to have my back, there was already a news article that came out this morning. I'm sure a few more have followed since then, SHINee is a popular group."

"Narcissist," she growled.

Taemin only chuckled.

The rest of the ride was in silence, only the soft tunes from the radio being heard.

When the car pulled to a stop Nayoung looked out the window to see the plain SM sign held proudly on the side of the building. Fans were everywhere. It made her wonder why the label didn't build up a fence since clearly it looked like they could just run in if they truly wanted to.

"Put this on," Taemin tossed a ball cap to his soul mate. "Keep your face down, these fans have been staking out here ever since those pictures were posted. If they see your face… it's all over."

Nayoung nodded, understanding the grave situation. Fastening the cap atop her head, she pulled the lip down as best she could. Next thing she knew, the door slid open and the loud feminine screeches of the fan girls pierced her ears.

Obeying the idols words, she kept her face down, holding her hand against the part of her face that would have otherwise been visible to the cell phone flashes.

An arm wrapped around her that, due to the shock through her body, she instantly knew it was Taemin. The second the front doors closed the screams for Taemin were cut off.

"You can look up now."

Reluctant, Nayoung picked up her head, still keeping the hat on. Looking around she couldn’t help but think how bland the building looked. With its light blue tile flooring and white walls, it made it seem closer to a hospital than an entertainment labels building. The only thing it missed was the undeniable smell of bleach.

Taking an elevator, Nayoung noticed the older gentlemen who drove the van was still with them. She guessed he was the manager, not just a driver. She also noticed then Taemin's arm was still around her, but she didn’t have the energy to shove it off.

The trio reached two double doors upon leaving the elevator. The manager opened the doors, without knocking, to reveal two older men; one sitting behind a glass desk, the other standing to the side with his arms crossed and a woman sitting on one of two chairs facing the desk.

"Lee Taemin!" the man behind the desk billowed as soon as he caught sight of the idol.

Nayoung felt the boy shrink back at hearing his name, she wondered why until she looked harder at the man. He looked familiar…

"Kim Youngmin-nim, this is my soul mate, Soo Nayoung."

He's the CEO.

Nayoung felt her body uncomfortably shiver when his beady eyes seemed to be scrutinizing her.

"So this is the girl who stole your heart, and caused a mess for me."

"I didn't steal his heart," she practically squeaked out, not being able to speak any louder.

The CEO scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You stole every bit of him girl, after all you are his soul mate. So tell me, how long have you been together?"

"Over a month." "We're not together."

The duo turned to each other with questioning looks. But, before either could question the other Youngmin billowed, "Don't tell me you didn’t complete the bond yet? You expect me to tell the world that you found your soul mate and yet you aren't even together?"

"Sir," the woman cleared . "They are soul mates, so it will happen either way. It doesn't matter if we fib right now to the press and say they are together at the moment."

The man standing next to the desk nodding his agreement. "Fans would be more understanding as long as they believe they've completed the bond. Some may not like it, but it's a fact of life. Plus many other idols have been coming out into the light with their soul mates and there hasn't been much out lash."

"But it's not real," Nayoung piped in, her fists tightening. She did not want her face to be plastered all over news sights as being together with Lee Taemin.

"We could make it real," Taemin softly mumbled, turning to Nayoung with gentle eyes.

The female students eyes widened, her head snapping to his, looking at the tip of his nose. "You already know how I feel about it."

"It's only a matter of time, you heard what Jonghyun said it'd be better for both of our health if we were together."

The adults in the room all shared confused looks, they thought they were just waiting for 'the right time' as many soul mates do. They didn't expect the girl to be against it altogether.

"We can still be just friends. The couple he told us cut off all contact with each other for a whole year. As long as we're careful and stay in contact often we'll be fine."

Taemin's eyes flashed. "How long can you keep denying me? How long can you keep this up?"

As his voice heightened the adults swiftly left the room, deciding they didn’t want to be there for what they knew was going to happen next. They all have their own soul mates and know well enough about the pre-bonding emotions.

"Forever if I get my way!"

"You truly think you can deny me forever? You really think that your soul won't ache for mine the way mine aches for yours?"

"I don't have that ache!" she lied. "I don't feel any of those feelings! Wanna know why? Because I don't believe in this crap! And I never will!"

He snapped. "THEN LOOK INTO MY EYES! LOOK INTO MY EYES AND DENY ME!"

She froze.

"YOU REFUSE BECAUSE YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT! WE ARE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! YOU ARE MINE AND I AM YOURS!"

When she didn't answer Taemin harshly grabbed her shoulders, digging his fingers into her skin when he felt her struggle. "LOOK INTO MY EYES DAMN YOU! LOOK INTO THEM AND DENY ME!"

Nayoung closed her eyes, swiftly shaking her head. She felt tears starting to blossom.

"It's because you can't," Taemin sounded defeated. His voice tired. His hands slowly fell from the shorter girls shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, Nayoung did something she told herself she would never do. Her lids slid open. Her own eyes meeting Taemin's for the first time.